Early January New Moon Spotting

It’s nearly time for my monthly naked-eye New Moon spotting challenge, which becomes much easier for observers north of the tropics after the time of the winter solstice. The young Moon will appear north of the ecliptic which is also helpful. So is its enhanced speed while near perigee. Especially lucky and sharp-eyed North Americans might be able to sight the half-day-old Moon after sunset on January 1. Others should find the search more rewarding during the next evening.

My more detailed article describing the waxing crescent Moon’s first appearance of the coming lunar month appears under the links for my preview graphics at www.CurtRenz.com/moon

Photos and descriptions of the young Moon would be welcome additions to this thread. Please include your location, date and time with zone.

Here is a link to a photo that I shot from Arlington Heights, Illinois of the Moon aged 1.4 days on 2008 DEC 28 at 17:05 CST. Mercury appears near the center of the photo while Venus is at the top: http://www.curtrenz.com/NM081228.jpg

After sunset on January 2, the thin crescent Moon will occult magnitude +3.1 Beta Capricorni for some observers in western North America. There will be a graze in the Vancouver area. Preview data and graphics are on my occultations webpage: www.CurtRenz.com/occultations

For occultation or graze data specific to your location, please reply to this thread with a longitude, latitude, elevation and time zone. Descriptions and photos of the occultation would be welcome additions to this thread.

Last night my wife and I were able to see a very young moon -- 13.3 hours old to be exact -- using a pair of 11x56 binoculars. Five minutes later we glimpsed it without the binoculars. Then in another 5 minutes we lost it in the beautiful orange sunset haze. This is a personal best for the youngest moon that we have seen, as a very, very thin crescent "smile" (0.6% illuminated, per an astronomy program).

Last night my wife and I were able to see a very young moon -- 13.3 hours old to be exact -- using a pair of 11x56 binoculars. Five minutes later we glimpsed it without the binoculars. Then in another 5 minutes we lost it in the beautiful orange sunset haze. This is a personal best for the youngest moon that we have seen, as a very, very thin crescent "smile" (0.6% illuminated, per an astronomy program).

Congratulations, Jim; you apparently win the naked-eye contest. Thanks for your report. Did you get a photo?

Last night my wife and I were able to see a very young moon -- 13.3 hours old to be exact -- using a pair of 11x56 binoculars. Five minutes later we glimpsed it without the binoculars. Then in another 5 minutes we lost it in the beautiful orange sunset haze. This is a personal best for the youngest moon that we have seen, as a very, very thin crescent "smile" (0.6% illuminated, per an astronomy program).

Congratulations, Jim; you apparently win the naked-eye contest. Thanks for your report. Did you get a photo?

It wasn't a contest for us -- the views alone were worth it. No pics because we are strictly visual observers, but our different sets of eyeballs reduced the averted imagination factor.

It just came peeking out from behind the moon as if it was a little shy about it. A couple little peeks around the edge, then it came out for good.

This is the first time I have done this (an occultation), that I can recall. It seems like it would be a good thing for young folks to do.

It is quite interesting and gives one an excellent excuse to get out to experience the coyotes, the hawks, Venus, Earthshine, Orion, his sword, Pleiades, Gemini and Jupiter, Sunset and I got an interesting shot of Jupiter that looks similar to the Lagoon Nebula or a dark lane in a galaxy. I saw this both in the camera and the binoculars.

It appears that beta Cap aka ZC 2969 will be occulted here on April 22, July 13, Sept 6, and Nov 27 this year.

It appears to be one of the bright stars in the path of the moon.

Beta Capricorni is in the midst of a series of occultations that occur every sidereal month from 2011 MAY 22 to 2016 MAY 26. Each occultation is only observable along a specific strip of the Earth's surface. The middle dates of its series are separated by 18.6 years.

Any star located within 6.6° of the ecliptic can be occulted by the Moon. The occultations occur in series due to the regression of the lunar nodes which has a cycle of 18.6 years. Stars less than 3.9° from the ecliptic have two series of occultations during each nodal cycle. Those between 3.9° and 6.3° from the ecliptic like Beta Capricorni have only one series per nodal cycle. Those between 6.3° and 6.6° from the ecliptic can skip several nodal cycles between occultations.

Ok, so the big ones to look for are Aldebaran, Spica, and Regulus plus M44.

What about that Zodiacal Catalog. Do you use that numbering system?

And why isn't this a more popular pursuit? Probably was bigger back in the old days when eclipses were big time.

I put these on my calendar, why not?

Add Antares to the list of first magnitude stars that can be occulted. Also the Pleiades cluster.

I use my own numbering system for bright stars that can be occulted in the order of their ecliptical longitudes.

Occultation observing was more popular back in the days when the topographic features on the lunar limb were having their locations precisely defined. That's been accomplished.

Nevertheless it's interesting to see that such celestial events can be accurately predicted centuries in advance when we have trouble forecasting next week's weather. Grazing occultations are of special interest when a star can be seen winking on and off as lunar hills and valleys pass by. Also, an occultation of a planet can be a pretty sight.

On my occultations webpage I feature graze maps, preview graphics and Besselian elements for upcoming occultations of planets and stars brighter than fourth magnitude and visible during the nighttime from English speaking countries: www.CurtRenz.com/occultations

A couple of unusual occultations are upcoming. The first will be the lunar occultation of the asteroid Melpomene visible from North America during the evening of 2014 FEB 12. The other will be the occultation of Lambda Aquarii by Venus on 2014 APR 16, although that will be a daytime event for North Americans. I'll present charts on my website when the dates of those events come nearer.